PLAY

The City that will take you higher than ever before

Played by Safat Alam

Bioshock is finally back after three years and we can safely say it was more than worth the wait. Those who played the previous installments in the Bioshock series should know this: even if you try to make direct comparisons between the two, it is clear that Infinite is an infinitely better (hah!) game than its predecessor. It moves at a better pace, than BioShock, but still carries that element of exploration and the sense of excitement that comes with a game with such a huge playable world.

Infinite’s new setting, Columbia, is just full of gorgeous architecture and stunning vistas. This game is truly a fitting goodbye to the current generation of consoles in terms of what their hardware can generate. Columbia is teeming with life and successfully convinces you that you’re in a living, breathing dystopian atmosphere. The graphics is by far the best this year, which really makes you wonder how much better the Unreal Engine can get. For console players, the graphics is certainly great, but next to the sheer ambition of the game, the graphics are a bit of a letdown; but in no way does it take anything away from the whole experience.

The biggest reason and probably the main feature that will leave your mind blown is the story in Bioshock, which cannot be praised enough. The original Bioshock was known for its great twists but without spoiling much, you can be assured that you’ll never see the twist coming and when it does, you’ll remember it for a long time to come. Not often does a game come out that manages to tell such a captivating story with such a cast of deeply fleshed out characters. This time the story revolves around Booker DeWitt, a disgraced agent, the man in the spotlight, who is tasked with bringing in Elizabeth (who tags along with you for the whole of the game and is a central character both in terms of gameplay and story) to settle a debt. The character of Elizabeth is so well defined that you cannot help but develop a feeling of deep connection with her over the course of the game.

The name BioShock always takes you back to the infamous fights with the Big Daddies and Big Sisters, but Infinite does away with these series staples, instead introducing the Songbird: a gigantic robo-fowl who serves up more than a challenge and leaves you craving more. The gameplay mechanic is mostly what it was and the Vigors – identical to Plasmids – offer you their unique powers to satiate your bloodlust. With the variety of guns, combat never feels repetitive if you keep changing your weapon combos. The new tool in Infinite, the Skyhook, offers gruesome execution moves and creative mobility around the open world of Infinite, allowing you to have high-speed gunfights whizzing around in the sky.

This game signals the definitive end to the Xbox360 and PS3 era. It is an absolutely outstanding game, a new benchmark for game developers to strive for. Do not hesitate in buying this game. This game is pure art.